The surprising feet that make Aussie geckos so good at climbing

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-09-03 09:01

Australia; NSW; VIC; QLD; SA

Oedura cincta Inland Marbled Velvet Gecko © Third Silence Nature Photography · iNaturalist Observation CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

A family of Australian geckos, called the diplodactylid geckos, have both claws and sticky pads on their feet, and now scientists have found that they use them in unexpected ways to help them climb. Contrary to what you might think, they found that claws are more effective on smooth surfaces, while sticky pads perform better on rough ones. The authors say this surprising combination allows geckos to cling to and climb vertical and inclined surfaces with ease.

Media release

From: The Royal Society

What’s the point? The functional role of claws in pad-bearing taxa (Gekkota: Diplodactylidae)

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Australian diplodactylid geckos use their claws and sticky pads in unexpected ways to move across surfaces. Contrary to past assumptions, claws are more effective on smooth surfaces, while sticky pads perform better on rough ones. This surprising combination allows geckos to cling to and climb vertical and inclined surfaces with ease. The findings reveal how claws and pads work together to help geckos navigate diverse environments in the wild, offering new insights into their remarkable climbing abilities

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Research The Royal Society, Web page Please link to the article in online versions of your report (the URL will go live after the embargo ends).

Journal/
conference: Proceedings of the Royal Society B

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: James Cook University, The University of Adelaide, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of New England

Funder: R.R.P. was supported by the James Cook University (JCU) Student Services and Amenities Fund, JCU Competitive Research Training Programme Grant and the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment. J.R. was supported by the Skyrail Rainforest Foundation Grant

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